Last Updated on December 16, 2020 by Chef Mireille
Pandan Puto – Gluten Free Filipino Steamed Muffins are a lightly sweetened treat, perfect for an afternoon pick me up or have it for breakfast, like they do in the Philippines!
Puto are an instant hit. Every time I make them for an event I am hosting, I get such positive feedback with questions like:
- What are these?
- Where did you discover them?
- You have to give me the recipe!
Filipino’s like starting the day with sweet things and puto is a very common way to start the day with a cup of coffee. Different than most other Asian countries due to their Spanish colonization, coffee is more common than tea to have with their puto. For me, it’s a dessert that makes a nice afternoon pick me up with a cup of coffee or tea. This isn’t the first time I’ve presented puto to you. There are many different varieties and I’ve already presented Coconut Puto and Ube (Purple Yam) Puto. However, when I embraced this week’s theme of Gluten Free Desserts and ended up getting short on time, immediately I thought of making Pandan Puto. I have a jar of leftover puto extract in my fridge after presenting Kuih Dadar (Coconut Stuffed Malaysian Pandan Crepes) last week so I need to use it up.
If you’ve heard me talk of pandan before, you can just scroll down to the recipe but if you’re hearing about pandan for the first time and wondering what the heck it is? Pandan is the most common flavoring for sweet things in Southeast Asia – pretty much like we use vanilla extract. It comes from the leaves of the Screwpine tree and is sold in various forms. In Sri Lanka, it is also used in savory dishes. You can purchase the extract, essence, paste or the frozen leaves, also known as Bai Toey (Vietnamese). Any good Asian supermarket with a wide variety of products from Southeast Asia should sell it
One little note. My hand slipped a little when I was adding the droplets of pandan paste so you don’t have to make yours as flourescent green as mine are.
IN THE MAKING
Although modern versions will often add a little all purpose flour, traditionally the main ingredients are rice flour and coconut milk, making this the perfect #vegan and #glutenfree treat!
They are so soft and fluffy!
What’s great is that since puto can be made with so many different flavor profiles, you can make puto every week!
In the Philippines, puto molds are available. In the past when I made puto, I used silicone muffin molds but after visiting Penang (Malaysia), this time I used Puteri Ayu molds I picked up. Any kind of mold that can fit into a bamboo steamer can be used. I love the concave cavity that this produced, perfect for berries!
So are you excited to try the flavor of pandan? Here are all my Pandan focused Recipes…
Pandan Recipes
- Malaysian Puteri Ayu – very similar to these but not #glutenfree
- Kuih Dadar – Coconut Stuffed Pandan Crepes (Malaysian/Indonesian)
- Kue Pukis (Indonesian Cakes)
- Boonchi Curry – Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry
- Lemongrass Pandan Ice Cream
Pandan Puto – Gluten Free Filipino Steamed Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk a little to combine.
- Add coconut milk, pandan extract and water. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add pandan paste and mix until well blended.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a steamer rack inside. Place the pandan leaves in the water.
- Spray the inside of muffin molds with non stick spray.
- Fill the molds about 3/4 full with the batter and place inside a bamboo steamer.
- Place the steamer inside the pot on the steamer rack.
- Cook for 30 minutes until the puto are puffy and a tester inserted comes out clean.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#78
First, I LOVE that green colour. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off it to read the intro or the recipe. Second, the molds are super cute and the finished dish looks so lovely!..I read much about pandan during the Srilankan cuisine exploration, unfortunately, I couldn’t lay my hands on it. Very lovely dish and I enjoyed your theme and the efforts you had put in to create these 3 dishes are awesome!
yep I’m lucky to get so much variety of ingredients here in NYC
How catchy those puto looks, and that mild green colour are really eye pleasing. And those moulds are damn cute Mir. Wish i get thos gluten free muffins rite from the lappy screen.
thanks – yes the green color is definitely eye catching huh 🙂
Your hand might have slipped, but that has enhanced the beauty of puto. Moreover, this is my favorite color.
glad you like the bright green then
So beautiful and such delicious looking steamed muffins.
thanks – yes they are very light and airy as well as delicious
Very vibrant and cute looking moulded pudding cups there. I am amazed at all the exotic ingredients you look out for and introduce it to us.
so glad you enjoy them
Your slip of the hand has made these putos even more attractive. Love love the color and muffins are so cute.
thank you Usha – yes truth be told I didn’t mind the bright green color either
I actually love the green color and glad that your fingers slipped a bit! the color just makes it even more attractive. I really need to try to find the pandan extract. Looks very tempting!
thanks yes its bright and inviting I think too 🙂
I have always imgained how would be the taste and flavors of pandan leaves. It sounds super exotic to me. Those steamed muffins look so amazing and I love the fact it is eggless.
hope you can get access to pandan soon
I remember this mould, i read your post before my malaysia visit, i checked in the central market in kualampur, but couldn’t find this mould there!!
Love the striking green of the muffins! so beautifully done, those airy porous final texture says it all!!!
yes they are so light and airy
Beautiful color must say first of all. Baking with rice flour sounds great. I have not yet tried this. I love your moulds.
thanks – I went on quite a mission to find them when I was in Penang
Oh, those muffins looks so lovely wtih a vibrant green colour. Irresistible Mir!
thanks – yes pandan makes this so bring and attractive
Thank you for sharing this! Could the pandan be removed from the recipe – and still result in a nice albeit plain cake? I’m celiac and have many allergies too (presently can’t have eggs either). Your base recipe could be very useful. Could pandan extract be replaced with vanilla extract or maple perhaps to compensate for liquid portion? (Not meaning to insult by asking this – pandan simply isn’t available to me – and my sensitivities are hard to work around.) Thank you in advance.
sure – it is just flavoring. You can add any flavor you like – even just some ground cinnamon
I love Cebu. I miss Bantayan Island. I’ll be going back next year to the Philippines
lucky you – I hope to make it to the Philippines soon!
Hi,
By 13.5 can, do you mean 13.5 oz can or 13.5 grams? It’s a little confusing.😅
In America, coconut milk is sold in 13.5 oz cans – approximately 2 cups